Seaplane's Sanctuary
by FairDrea
Summary: ***Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle - One Shot.*** Alex provides Bethany with a location for a much needed get away and then joins her. Adult content. Read at your own risk!


A/N: This is intended to just be a one shot - an idea that wouldn't leave me alone after watching Jumanji: Into the Jungle. I felt so bad for Bethany, falling for a guy who was her same age in the game but didn't return to the same time. And I totally ship Alex and Bethany, regardless of the age gap. At some point after you're 20, that gap becomes less of a big deal to people, right?

So this is just my spin on their opportunity. One great, smutty opportunity. Enjoy!

**Seaplane's Sanctuary**

One day.

One day in a game;

a character playing a role for a handful of moments.

It shouldn't have changed everything about her.

But it had.

Bethany Walker, queen of the selfie, Instagram addict, social media junkie, unaware of anything around her that didn't directly involve her would never be who she was before Jumanji. She would never be who she was before Alex Vreeke.

She sat on the window seat in her room overlooking the street, watching raindrops splatter the sidewalk. Lightning flashed, thunder cracking in its wake and she rested her forehead against the cool glass of the window. She'd cracked it open before the storm had rolled in, letting nature seep into her room, finding the immediate contrast between a stormy New Hampshire afternoon and the stifling heat of the jungle.

Adjusting to real life after Jumanji had been surprisingly difficult for Bethany. Blame it on her sheltered upbringing, her unhealthy attachment to her phone, or going from caring about only herself to caring about others so deeply that it scared her.

There were too many variables contributing to the drastic shift to narrow it down to one. Too many variables to deal with in a day. They trickled over into her nights and invaded her dreams, turning them to nightmares.

For the first several weeks after the game, her nights were riddled with them, the sounds of drums a continual soundtrack. She would wake up drenched in sweat, the sound of her own bones snapping as a hippo destroyed her echoing in her head. Sometimes it was gunshots, sometimes it was the chopping blades of the helicopter, sometimes it was her friends screaming over the sound of jaguars snarling. But mostly, it was death by hippo.

She'd almost lost her mind entirely trying to deal with it on her own.

And then one night, as she lay in bed catching her breath, tears coursing down her face, her phone rang. Not recognizing the number, she silenced it. Her phone chimed with a notification a minute later.

_So, if I try again, will you answer? It's Alex. _

Her heartbeat quickened. She didn't have time to send a response, or the ability. Her hands were suddenly trembling uncontrollably. When her phone rang again, she gasped and dropped it.

"Oh my god, pull it together," she muttered to herself.

She picked up her phone, took a stabilizing breath and answered with a slightly breathless, "Hello?"

"Hey there, Professor Oberon."

He sounded exhausted. "Alex...hey. How did you get my number?"

"Spencer. He said you weren't doing too great, so I asked him for it. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, of course it is." She laid back down, turning on her side and pulling her comforter over her. "How are you?"

"Doing okay. It's been kind of a crazy week. What about you? Why does Spencer think you're not okay?"

She closed her eyes against the burn of tears. She was suddenly desperate to purge herself of everything. "I'm not...sleeping the best."

"Nightmares?"

She hummed an affirmative, unable to speak past the lump in her throat.

"For about a year after the game, I kept waking up from nightmares and thinking that the house was on fire. I'd freak out checking myself for bullet wounds. Dad tried to get me to see a therapist but how would that even go, right? Twenty years in a video game gave me PTSD? No one's going to believe that. Have you talked to anyone about the nightmares?"

Bethany gently cleared her throat. "No. They all have their own stuff going on. I don't want to bother them."

"Then talk to me, Beth," he said softly, his voice so soothing and inviting.

She had. For hours. She unloaded on him without thinking, talking about life after the game, during the game and before. He never tried to stop her. He just listened, saying supportive things every few minutes.

The sun was peeking up over the horizon by the time she was wrung out, her eyes heavy and her soul free of the burdens it had been carrying around.

"Think you can sleep now?" Alex asked, his deep timbre making her feel warm and comforted.

"I think so, yeah." She picked at the corner of her pillowcase, thinking things she wouldn't dare say. Like how she could definitely sleep if he was there with her. "Thanks, Alex."

"I remember how badly I wished I would have had someone to talk to. I'm here if you need me, Bethany. Any time."

She took him at his word, always aware that there was a level of danger in talking to him. There was the twenty year difference, the wife, the children. Having that connection with him from the game though was the worst kind of temptation. Her phone once again became something she was overly attached to. To be fair, it wasn't constant, it was always related to Alex and after a text from him that said, "Holy shit, my daughter just dropped the f-bomb on accident. I don't know what to do with this" she quickly decided that checking during class was off limits. She'd burst out laughing during a lecture on Ebola and that hadn't gone over well at all. Of course, Alex found it hilarious, laughing even harder when she told him it was during a very graphic account of the symptoms.

He was her saving grace when the nightmares were too real, her constant reminder that she was more intelligent than she gave herself credit for and the one always encouraging her to try new things.

When she wanted to try rock climbing, take a college course in cartography to see if anything from the game had stuck, start writing for the school newspaper and run for class president, he was her biggest cheerleader.

And when she'd graduated, he was right there in the crowd, smiling and cheering as loudly as her parents.

Her graduation party was the first time being face to face after meeting each other outside of the game. It was awkward and tense having to come up with a story as to how she knew him, coming up with a lame story about him being a long term sub at her school, but she had been extremely grateful that he had shown up. He'd talked cars with her dad over beer, had traded recipes with her mom and made his way over to her when she was with Spencer and Martha, offering them all hugs and congratulating them.

Bethany had caught him as he was leaving out of sight and earshot from the crowd.

"Thanks so much for coming, Alex," she said, shading her eyes from the sun as she smiled up at him. "Why didn't you bring your family? It would have been great meeting them."

Alex glanced uncomfortably towards the house. "I ah...I'm divorced, Bethany. My ex has the kids this week."

She went numb with shock, her hand dropping to her side. "Divorced?"

"Yeah. For about a year and a half, now. Maybe I should have said something but-."

"No! No, that's...you didn't have to tell me. I'm so sorry."

He shrugged. "Nothing to be sorry about. We tried to make it work for as long as we could but figured out we were just forcing something to work that wouldn't." Finally, he looked at her, something in his eyes, in the way he was looking at her made her feel warm and light headed. "It was really great to see you. Really. Thanks for the invite."

She waved him off. "Yeah, of course."

He laughed a little, shoving a hand back through his hair. "Same thing you said about saving my life." He watched her for a moment, then leaned down, pressing one hand to the side of her face and a soft kiss to the cheek on the opposite side. "Congratulations, Beth. I'm really proud of you."

She stopped herself from leaning into him but was powerless to stop herself from enjoying the feel of his breath on her neck or the scent of his cologne.

She'd watched him leave, waving as he drove away and had missed him immediately. The texting and phone calls continued but she hadn't seen him since then.

And now she was nineteen, staring out a window that overlooked the quietest neighborhood in existence, faced with the task of picking a college after taking a year off to save money and confused about everything she wanted out of life. Because everything boiled down to wanting the one thing she was relatively certain she couldn't have.

Alex Vreeke.

"I have to get out of this town," she muttered, the spoken confession sparking a need in her to do something unexpected. Maybe a little adventurous.

She snatched up her phone and started looking for private rentals on the coast. She had extra money stashed away. Her "fun money" saved for college shenanigans but realistically, with as much as college was going to cost even with scholarships, she wanted to use her time wisely.

Nothing was stopping her from using that money now, though.

As she was searching, a text came through from Alex.

_**A:**_ _Hey Professor, what are you up to? _

She rolled her eyes and smiled. He refused to stop calling her that, no matter how many times she asked.

_**B: **__Thinking about running off on some grand adventure on the coast for the weekend. Something spontaneous before college sucks up all my time. _

_**A: **__Way to be a badass! Any luck finding a place?_

_**B: **__Just started looking. Not much available. Last minute planners always get so screwed. _

She started looking again, quickly losing hope, the rush from the very idea of escaping mundane life for something different fading. Maybe something closer would be better. But...she really wanted that ocean view. Her phone dinged again and she swiped to check the message, going still, her heart thudding dangerously fast as she read the words.

_**A: **__I know a place. Meet me there? _

She stared at the text for several minutes, her mind going completely blank. Meet him? For dinner or...meet him for what?

_**A: **__I know...that's totally out of left field. I shouldn't have sent that. _

Her thumbs hovered over the keys, her mind fumbling for something to say back that would make sense, although nothing in here head made sense at that moment. She settled for one word and stared at it for a full two minutes. Finally, before she could talk herself out of it, she hit send.

_**B:**_ _Where? _

She tapped her foot nervously and chewed on her nail as she waited for a response, then jumped when her phone chimed.

_**A:**_ _Small cabin tucked back in the trees in Seabrook. I've got two hours left of work so look around and make yourself at home. Key's under the mailbox. _

He followed up with the address. A giddy thrill rushed through her as she shot back, "See you there" and quickly set to packing for the weekend. All the while she quietly reminded herself that he was just being a good friend and she shouldn't read into anything.

It would have been wonderful if her body would have listened and stopped making her feel like she was going to jump right out of her skin.

She was packed and on the road in under forty minutes, a note left for her parents to tell them she was off for a weekend of self-care and ocean relaxation. She stopped for coffee and to fill up on gas as she left town, then drove for an hour and a half, not stopping until she pulled into the gravel driveway of the address Alex had given her. The cabin wasn't fancy by many standards, but she understood the appeal immediately. It boasted a wide wrap around porch crafted out of narrow logs. The side facing the ocean had a large canvas awning and on several available surfaces sat citronella candles.

He'd recreated his shelter from Jumanji.

Bethany smiled as she stepped out of her car, shading her eyes from the afternoon sun. She breathed in the ocean air and decided that, for the time being, she wouldn't think about Alex joining her here. This was the remote escape she needed. She could feel the tension of stress and responsibility seeping out of her muscles just standing there and taking in the view. And she had at least two hours to enjoy it all on her terms.

She retrieved her bag from the back seat and ambled up to the front door, rocks crunching under her sandaled feet. As she was feeling around for the key, her phone buzzed in her back pocket.

_Probably Alex,_ she thought, unlocking the door and letting herself in. The pace that greeted her was open and welcoming, huge windows letting in the sun. A narrow countertop with a coffee maker on one end was the only thing that really separated the kitchen from the living room. Setting her bag down by the door, she started for the back of the cabin where she assumed the bedroom and bathroom was, pulling her phone free from her back pocket. A text from Alex was waiting for her.

_**A: **__Make it okay?_

_**B: **__Just walked through the front door. The back looks like something straight out of a video game ;)_

_**A: **__Some things were hard to let go of. A jungle retreat was one of them. _

She laughed softly at that. Of course, her thing that had been difficult to let go of was him. That was a little different from a retreat.

Bethany tossed her phone down on the deep teal comforter and flopped down beside it. The king sized bed took up so much space, leaving hardly enough room for the two bedside tables and the long dresser across from it. But she liked it. It felt more private than confined, the walls painted a shade of rich cream light enough to brighten up the space but not so bright that intimacy of the space was erased.

Images of herself under Alex on that very bed started to creep into her mind and she quickly bounced off the bed.

_Distract yourself, Beth. Keep exploring, take a shower, go walk down by the ocean. Just __**don't **__think about that! _

She went back to the living room, glancing at the horseshoe shaped couch as she walked by it to get her bag. There were two magazines sitting on the coffee table – Hikers Guide and National Geographic. She almost missed the third one. It was hidden under Hikers Guide, the corner peeking out. Curious, she went around the couch and pulled it out.

"Plane and Pilot," she murmured, flipping through the pages. The issue was from April-June of this year and showed very little wear. Either Alex had been here within the last few months or he had someone who came by to take care of the cabin and bring in his mail. With as private as this place was, she was willing to put money on him having spent time there recently.

After putting her bag in the bedroom, she rummaged around the kitchen in search of coffee grounds, starting a pot before retreating back to the bedroom to take a shower in the adjoining bathroom.

She took her time soaking up the heat, shampooing her hair twice and scrubbing work residue from her skin until the water ran lukewarm. After brushing through her hair and fluffing the wet mass with her fingers, she changed into a pair of jean shorts and a simple t-shirt, pulling a hooded sweatshirt over that and walking barefoot to the kitchen for a cup of coffee before strolling out the sliding door to the back porch.

The temperature outside was cooled by the chill breeze blowing off the ocean. She'd driven out of the rain on the way there, but it was clear that the storms had rolled through there earlier, leaving everything wet and smelling of rain. There was a small strip of sandy beach but the shoreline was mostly rocks, glistening darkly under the unobstructed sunlight. It didn't look nearly as inviting as she had hoped it would be. The rocking lounger under the shade of the canopy however was another story.

Bethany sank onto the cushioned seat, pulling one leg under her and using the foot of the other to start the bench gently rocking. Out of distractions, she couldn't stop her mind from spinning, from questioning what she was doing there, what she was expecting the outcome to be. She was well aware of how she felt about Alex. At one point, she'd stopped trying to convince herself that wanting him was wrong but she couldn't do it. Nothing about wanting him, about feeling anything for him felt wrong. Everything about it, about him and the space he took up in her mind, in her heart, felt _right._

But she had no idea if any of those confusing emotions were something plaguing Alex as well or if it was all one sided.

If it was one sided though...why would he have invited her here?

She sipped her coffee, watching the splash of the waves over the rocks. If she wasn't so tense and questioning everything at the moment, she could enjoy it. But the restless crashing of the waves echoed what was happening in her mind.

She could relate to water…fantastic.

With a self-depreciating sigh, she tilted her cup back and drained the remaining coffee, now cool, then stood and went inside for a refill.

She was just reaching for the pot when the front door opened. Alex stepped in, simple and easy as a Saturday afternoon in loose fitting jeans and a worn Nirvana t-shirt circa 1992. He paused on the threshold when his eyes met hers. The tension that had followed her inside stretched between them, an invisible, too-tight rubber band dangerously close to snapping.

"Hey," she offered with a little smile, self consciously tucking her hair behind her ear. Her voice seemed to snap him out of the moment. He dropped his duffle bag and shut the door behind him.

"You made coffee. Awesome! I haven't had anywhere near enough today. You settling in okay?"

She nodded and turned from him to pull another cup down from the cupboard, filling it for him and adding to her own empty cup as well. "That shower is amazing. The whole place is really. And the back porch looks oddly familiar."

She turned up the wattage on her smile as she handed him one of the mugs.

Alex smiled back, his grin lopsided and doing crazy things to her stomach that she wasn't altogether uncomfortable with. "That was pretty much the only place where I felt safe when I was stuck there. It kind of brought me some comfort outside of the game. When I bought this place, the deck wasn't finished so I just...did it myself."

"I like it. It's nice that you were able to take something positive out of the game."

His smile slipped a little. His gaze was suddenly hooded and the air between them seemed to snap and electrify.

"That's not the only positive thing I took out of that game," he said with a gruff catch in his voice that flipped her stomach again. "I got out alive...thanks to you. I'd say that's pretty positive."

"Yeah...it is," she agreed. Silence stretched between, laced with the tension. Neither moved. Their coffee started to cool.

Unable to stand it, willing to leap in without thinking, Bethany put an end to the silence. "Why did you ask me to come here?" she whispered.

Alex placed his coffee cup down on the end table. He braced his fingertips against the lacquered top, made a fist and then rapped his knuckles once against it before shoving his hands back through his hair, dropping his head back. "Because I keep trying to fight this need and every day, I lose. It's this pointless, endless battle that I keep trying to control the end of but I _can't _because it's not supposed to end the way that I think it should." His gaze was suddenly on hers, feverish but determined. "It's supposed to end with you. Whatever happened in the game...it did something to us and no amount of rationalizing the situation is going to change the fact that I want you."

Her heart tripped wildly, her breath catching. "What?"

He moved in front of her, his intense gaze burning her from the inside out. "Bethany...I want you. I've wanted you since I got out of that damn game. There's more to it than that...so much more...but right now? Damn it, a man can only take so much fantasizing about things he can't have without losing his mind."

Her voice left her in a breathless rush. "Who said you can't have me?" Before she could question herself, stop herself or doubt anything, she eliminated what little space remained between them, lifting her hands to run them up his chest, her mouth going dry as she watched his eyes grow dark with lust. "I haven't been with a guy since before I got sucked into the game. Not because I didn't want sex...but because their hands weren't yours, their eyes weren't yours. _Nothing _about them was _you_." Her voice dropped to a desperate whisper. "I want you, Alex. So badly."

"Beth-."

His hands grasped her hips, rough and exciting in all the right ways. A gasp tripped it's way up her throat had mere seconds to escape before his lips caught hers. Years of dreaming of this very moment paled in comparison. Her imagination failed her completely. His teeth nipped at her bottom lip and she moaned, opening her mouth to his heated assault, her arms winding around his neck as his tongue boldly stroked hers.

He lifted her easily, bracing her against the wall, pressing his hips against hers. Feeling his hard length intimately against her made her ache in the most delicious way, her body tingling with newly awakened need.

"Oh god, Alex," she sighed.

One of his hands slid around the back of her neck and he broke away to run hot, open mouthed kisses down her neck. "Say my name again," he demanded in a gruff murmur, his teeth teasing her ear and causing a shiver of raw desire to run the length of her body.

"Alex-." She said his name like a litany, running her fingers through his thick hair. He shifted his hips against her and she cried out, her fingers curing to grip his hair. She could feel him smiling against her skin.

"Why does it sound so good when you say my name?" He unapologetically pressed his length against the apex of her thighs and she moaned long and low, wishing the clothing between them wasn't there. "Hm, that's why."

"You keep that up and-."

Her threat died a quick death as he did just that, over and over, rubbing her into a wanton frenzie. But he wasn't unaffected by his tormenting behavior. Her name being said by him, all rough gravel and breathless wonder, was something she wanted to listen to forever. She wanted him losing control just like she was.

"Take me to the bedroom," she whispered, flicking the tip of her tongue over his earlobe before nipping at the same place. "Now, Alex."

He moved away from the wall, lowering her to the ground, then grabbed the hem of her sweatshirt and pulled it over her head, tossing it aside impatiently along with the tshirt she'd had under it. There was nothing underneath that. She hadn't bothered with a bra when getting out of the shower. The heat in his gaze intensified and her reaction to it was visceral, reverberating through her like a soundwave.

There was no way they were going to make it to the bedroom.

When his mouth crashed against hers again, it was with a desperation that brought tears to her eyes. She'd been waiting for him since getting out of the game. He'd been waiting for her since getting out himself...long before she even knew what Jumanji was.

Clothing was torn at until there was nothing more between them. Alex pinned her back against the wall. He ran his fingertips up her left thigh, coaxing her to lift it, hooking it over his hip. His hand pressed to her heat, hesitated for an agonizing heartbeat. The ache between her legs was almost painful now, so painful that when he finally did slide a finger inside of her, her entire body spasmed in reaction, her hoarse scream filling the silence around them.

She arched against him and he increased the pace. She dug her fingers into the skin of his shoulders, dropped her head back. She was lost. So lost. Everything he was doing to her was kindling one blazing inferno after another that swallowed her mercilessly.

She was teetering on the edge, the tension in her body dangerously close to snapping when he withdrew his finger. She whimpered and knew it was a pitiful noise but didn't care in the slightest. She wanted him beyond reason, beyond logic, beyond caring if she came across desperate.

"Bethany-."

She lowered his gaze to his, surprised to find him breathing just as heavily as she was. A tension rode his shoulders, the muscles bunching under his skin. He looked like a man barely hanging onto his self-control.

"Beth…" his name left her this time in an agonized whisper and he leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers, closing his eyes.

He was fighting with himself. If she didn't take this situation into her own hands, take away his control, he might talk himself out of going any further.

She dropped her leg and gently pushed him back, putting space between them. With a tiny smile, she took his hand and walked to the living room, giving him little choice but to follow. She skirted around the couch. Once in front of it, she turned to Alex and gave his hand a little tug. He frowned but followed her silent instructions, sitting down on the couch.

Bethany wouldn't give him a chance to question anything else. He could do that later. Right now, he was hers.

She placed a knee on either side of his hips, guided his hands to her hips and then placed hers on the back of the couch behind him. She bent to kiss him, her hair forming a curtain around them. As the kiss deepend, his hand curling around her neck, she lowered herself onto him until he was fully buried in her. She broke the kiss long enough to catch a breath - a pointless effort. One shift of his hips and she was gasping again, moaning, crying out as she rocked against him, blindly reaching for the ecstasy he could bring her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, bent her head to his shoulder, twisting her head to press kisses to his heated skin. He turned to her and caught her mouth with his, kissing her feverishly as he turned them and laid her back on the couch.

It was impossible not to stare up at him as he thrust deep into her. This man...she loved this man...and the things he was doing to her far surpassed anything she'd been lucky enough to feel up until this point.

She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, held him as the muscles in her body started to tighten, kissed him when she could manage the breath to do so. Her control was slipping quickly.

He thrust into her hard and fast, his own slipping as well.

"Alex...Alex…please," she whimpered, not entirely sure what she was begging him for but knowing she was so wonderfully close. "Oh god, Alex!"

Her world exploded around her with a sudden, startling ferocity, her orgasm ruthlessly tearing through her. She threw her head back, allowed it to own her entirely, allowed Alex to own her entirely.

Alex's body jerked under her hands and he thrust forward once more, burying his head in the curve of his shoulder and releasing a guttural moan.

Bethany turned her head, pressing her lips against his neck and feeling the trip of his pulse. She smiled. She'd never been so drained or content in her life. Even with his weight pressing her into the couch, she found it comforting and loved how protected she felt. So much so that she drifted off without even realizing it until the warmth went away and she felt herself being lifted.

"Alex?" she murmured sleepily.

"Shh, just taking you to the bedroom."

She opened her eyes, expecting to wince and surprised to find that there was no natural light spilling in through the windows. "Is it...night time?"

"Yeah, but not that late."  
He laid her on the bed, coming down beside her and pulling the blankets up around them. She waited for him to get situated, then snuggled against him, sliding an arm around his waist. "Aren't you hungry? I'm starving."

He chuckled, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "There's a few places around here that deliver. We can order something."  
"I like that idea. A lot."

"Beth-."

She pulled back, looking up at him. His fingers traced the curve of her jaw, tucked her hair behind her ear. For a long moment, all he did was study her, a bewildered smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. She felt cherished - wonderfully, blissfully cherished.

"I love you, Beth," he finally said.

Tears stung her eyes. She blinked, not in an attempt to hide them, but allowing them to flow. There was no stopping them, anyway. "I love you too, Alex. I love you so much."

He rolled on top of her, kissing her deeply. "Love me enough to eat carbs in bed?"

She laughed against his lips, draping her arms over his shoulders. "All the carbs."

"After-," he said.

"After?" She felt him hot and hard between her legs. Hooking her feet low around his thighs, she hummed, a sound of pure pleasure. "Ah, after…"

"Yeah." She caught his crooked grin before he lowered his head to trail light, slow kisses down her neck. "After I take my sweet time showing you just how much I love you, Dr. Oberon."

She would have laughed, would have rolled her eyes and snorted in disgust if he wasn't driving her crazy again. "Have it your way, Seaplane. You wont get a single complaint out of me."


End file.
